Telephone service-meter.



No. 793,389. PATENTED JUNE 27, 1905. I

F. R. MOBERTY & J. L. MOQUARRIE- TELEPHONE. SERVICE METER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 19, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

No. 793,389. PATENTED JUNE 27, 1905. F. R. MOBERTY & J. L. MQQUARRIEL TELEPHONE SERVICE METER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 19, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Illllllll/IIIIIIIIIIII-l I W Wm UNITED STATES Patented June 27, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK R. MoBERTY, OF EVANSTON, AND JAMES L. MCQUARRIE, OF

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS TO WESTERN ELECTRIC COM- PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

TELEPHONE sERvicE-METER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 793,389, dated June 27, 1905. Application filed November 1Q, 1902 Serial No. 131,965.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, FRANK R. MOBER'IY, residing at Evanston, and J AMES L. MGQUAR- RIE, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, citizens of the United States, have invented a certain new, and useful Improvement in Telephone Service-Meters, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

Our invention relates to a service-meter for telephone-exchanges; and its object is to provide improved automatic apparatus for re cording the number of exchange connections which are completed at the central-office switchboard, the intention being, however, to make no permanent record when the service has been incomplete, as where the called line is already busy or if the called party fails to respond.

Generally speaking, our idea is to provide a counting device in association with each subscribers line with means preferably applied in the closure of the central-office connectionswitch for actuating the counting device to register each call, and in combination with said counting device we provide a rcbating mechanism whereby a charge already registered may be canceled, with means controlled at the central office for actuating said rebating mechanism.

In the preferred form of our invention the counting-wheel of the counter or service meter is adapted to run either forward or backward and is arranged to be actuated by a polarized electromagnet which may be connected in a bridge of the subscribers telephoneline. The answering portion of the operators cord circuit at the central oflice is equipped with a relay which applies current of one polarity to operate the meter when the answering-plug is inserted in answering a call. Then in case a complete connection is not established or whenever no charge is to be made the operator may apply, by means of a suitable switch, cu rrent of opposite polarity, which will cause a reverse actuation of the meter, thus canceling the previous registration and so rebating the charge.

We will describe our invention more particularlyby reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the preferred embodiment thereof, and the features or combinations which we regard as novel will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating a telephone-line extending from a substation to a central office, together with a portion of the operators switchboard apparatus, the system being organized and equipped for the measurement of telephone service in accordance with our invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing in detail one type of rebate-meter which may be used with the circuit arrangement shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional, view of the rebate-meter, and Fig. 4 is a similar view showing an alternative position of the parts.

The same characters of reference are used to designate the same parts wherever they are shown.

The telephone-line, which extends in two limbs 1 2 from the substation A to the central ofi'ice B, is equipped in the usual manner, in accordance with what is well known as the central battery system, with a relayswitchboard and automatic signals. We have simply added to the line equipment a rebatemeter, which is shown with the polarized actuating-magnet connected in a bridge 3 across the line conductors at the substation. This bridge is controlled at normally open contacts a of the telephoneswitch, so that the bridge is closed only when the telephone is off the hook. v

1 The service-meter consists, essentially, of a counting train adapted to run forward or backward and mechanism for actuating the same in either direction controlled by electromagnetic mechanism which responds differently according to the currents, diverse in kind or circuit, which may be applied to it. We prefer to make the meter with a polarized magnet having mechanism associated therewith such that when current of suitable strength is passed through the magnet in one direction the meter will be moved forward,

while current in the opposite direction will reverse the counting-train to rebate a charge previously recorded. We have provided means at the central office for automatically applying current of either polarity to the line, so that a call may be registered or rebated, as circumstances may require. We prefer to equip the answering portion of the operators cord-circuit with a relay which applies the meter-operating current when the plug is inserted, thus making a record of each call which is answered. Then in case the call does not develop into a complete connection or whenever it is desired to rebate the charge the operator may press a button, also associated with the answering-circuit, which applies current of opposite polarity to the line and actuates the meter reversely, thus rebating the charge. Before entering into a detailed description of this eentral-ofiiee switching apparatus, however, We will particularly describe in detail the rebate-meter, which We have shown at the substation and which is illustrated in detail in Figs. 2, 3, and 4t. The U-shaped bar I), which supports the magnetcores 0 0 and the centrally-pivoted armature (Z, is permanently magnetized in such a way that the ends thereof shown at the left will present one pole, while the rear end or yoke of the U will present the opposite pole. The cores 0 care of soft iron, and both are mounted upon the base or yoke piece and derive their polarity therefrom. The magnet-coils of the cores 0 0 are wound to produce or tend to produce poles of different sign, so that a polarized magnet is thus constructed such that when the magnet-coils are traversed by current in one direction the centrally-pivoted armature will be tilted as shown in Fig. a, while current of opposite polarity will cause the armature to be tilted in the opposite direction, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. The counting train 6 is provided with a toothed wheel a, which is adapted to be engaged by either of two pawls ff. The pawl f is connected to the armature (Z above the pivotal axis d thereof, and the pawl f is connected to said armature below said pivotal axis. Springs g g tend to hold the pawls ff in engagement with the teeth of the countingwheel (1; but whenv either pawl is moved toward the magnet-pole by the attraction of the armature the end of the other pawl is moved out of engagement with the teeth of the counting-wheel, such movement being produced by a cam-surface of the pawl riding up upon a pin f, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4. When the armature (Z is tilted in a clockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 4:, the countingtrain is thus rotated one step to effect a registration, and the armature may then be returned, through the agency of springs g g, to its normal central position ready to make another registration; but if now the armature be tilted in a contra-clockwise direction the wheel 6 will be reversely actuated, moving back the counting-train, and so counteracting or nullifying the previous registration.

The service-meter above described forms the subject-matter of our application, Serial No. 234,116, filed November 25, 1904, which is a division of the present application.

Turning now to the apparatus at the central offiee, the usual pair of plugs l1 7/, is provlded for makingconnections, the plugs being shown with the tip, ring, and sleeve contacts as usual, the tip and ring contacts of each plug being united with the corresponding contacts of its mate by the conductors 4 5, which include the windings of the usual repeating-coil. The central battery is connected, as usual, in a bridge across the conductors l 5 between the windings of a repeating-coil. The third contact or sleeve of each plug forms the terminal of a conductor leading from the free pole of the battery 2?, which is adapted when the plug is inserted in a spring-jack to be united with a con ductor which extends from the grounded cutoff relay of each line to the ring-contacts of the several multiple spring-jacks of that line, so that a complete local switchboard-oircuit from the battery is thus established. Itis usual to include in this circuit a supervisory signallamp and to control this lamp by means of a shunt around the same which is opened and closed by a supervisory relay connected in a through-conductor 5 of the cord-circuit. We have added to the cord-circuit a special relay k, which is included in the conductor 6, extending from the free pole of the battery to the sleeve of the answering-plug, this relay being excited whenever the answering-plug is inserted in the spring-jack of a line, the circuit being completed from the conductor 6 to earth by way of the conductor 7 of the line Whose spring-jack is plugged into. The polarized magnet of the service-meter at the sub station is adjusted so that it will not respond to the ordinary battery-currents in the line; but we provide generators G Gr of special strong currentsay one hundred and ten volts-for the actuation of the meter, whereby the current from the generator G will be momentarily applied through contacts controlled by the relay 76 when the answeringplug is inserted in the spring-jack of a line, and a key Z which when depressed will apply current from the generator G. The conductor 5 of the plug-circuit extends from the ringcontact of the answering-plug It to the lever of the switch Z and from the normal resting l contact thereof to a switch-spring 1; of the relay in. This switch spring normally rests against a contact which forms the terminal of a conductor 8, leading to the free pole of the grounded generator G, which supplies posi tive current. The relay Z; should be arranged to act sluggishly and may be constructed as shown with a heavy armature in front of the magnet-core and normally lying in a plane at an angle to the axis thereof. When the magnet-core of the relay is excited, the armature will be drawn into alinement with the core, and in this position an insulating-stud on the said armature will strike the switch-spring k and force the same away from its normal resting-anvil into contact with an alternate anvil, which is connected with a continuation of the cord-strand 5. The keyl when depressed is adapted to break the circuit of conductor 5 and connect the end thereof which leads to the answering plug with the free pole of the grounded generator G, which supplies current of negative polarity. The pole of the central battery z',.which is connected with the tip-strand 4 of the plug-circuit, is grounded, so that current from either of the generators G or G applied to the ring-strand 5 may find a complete circuit 7 out to the substation through the bridge 3 containing the servicemeter and back to earth byway of the other cord-strand 4:.

The operation of the system may be briefly reviewed as follows: When a subscriber desires an exchange connection, he transmits a call to the central oflice in the usual manner by removing his telephone from its switchhook and so closing the line-circuit. This also closes the bridge 3 containing the servicemeter; but the service-meter is unaffected by the flow of battery-current in the line. The operator responds to the call by inserting her answering-plug in the spring-jack of the callin g-line to bring her telephone into circuit and ascertain what connection is desired. The magnet of the relay k is excited by current in the circuit 6' 7 as soon as the answering-plug is-inserted; but the armature of said relay being slow to respond current from generator G is momentarily applied, passing through conductor 8 to the cord conductor 5, and thence over the line through the service-meter at the substation and back again to earth at the central office. This impulse of current is sumcient to actuate the service-meter and register the call, but is only momentary, the generator being immediately cut off by the response of the relay The operator having learned the number of the subscriber wanted proceeds to complete the connection in the usual way by inserting her calling-plug it into the spring-jack of the line wanted, if that line is free. If, however, the line wanted is busy (which the operator may ascertain by making a test in the usual Way) or if the called party does not respond, the operator before withdrawing her answering-plug h from the spring-jack of the calling-line will depress the key Z. This will apply to the line current of negative polarity from the generator Gr, so that the subscribers service-meter will be reversely actuated to rebate the call. The service-meter therefore will indicate only the number of calls which have resulted in complete connection between the calling-subscriber and his correspondent.

It should be stated that the service-meter should be so constructed and adjusted that it will not respond to the alternating ringingcurrent which is commonly used for ringing the substation call-bell. The resistance of the call-bell may be so proportioned to that of the service-meter that the latter being shunted by the former will not receive sufficient current for its actuation. Ordinarily when ringingcurrent is applied to the line the substation telephone will be on the hook, so that the bridge 3, containing the service-meter, will normally be open.

We claim 1. The combination with a telephone-line, of a central-otfice circuit, a connection-switch for uniting the line with said circuit, aservicemeter connected with the line, means actuated in the closure of said connection-switch for operating said meter to effect a registration,

and rebating mechanism for said meter, under the sole control of the central-ofiice operator,

adapted to cancel the record made thereby.

2. The combination with a telephone-line, of a central-ofiice circuit, a connection-switch adapted to unite said circuit with the telephone-line, a service-meter connected with the line, a source of current for operating said service-meterto register a call, and a switch for applying such current closed in making connection with the line, a rebate-key Z and means controlled thereby adapted to reversely actuate the service-meter, whereby a call registered upon the service-meter may be rebated.

line, a service-meter connected with the line having a polarized magnet and adapted to run in either direction according to the current applied thereto, a source of current for actuating the service-meter normally connected with the central-office circuit, a slow-actingrelay 76 adapted when excited to disconnect said source of actuating-current, means for exciting said relay controlled through the agency of the connection-switch, a source of reversing-current G, and a rebate-key Z associated with the central-office circuit adapted to apply said reversing-current, whereby a call answerediat the central office is automatically recorded but may be rebated by the actuation of said key Z, substantially as set forth.

4:. The combination with a telephone-line, of a central-oflice circuit, a connection-switch for uniting the central-ofiice circuit with the line, a service-meter connected with the line having a polarized magnet, said meter being constructed to turn in either direction according to the polarity of the current applied to said magnet, sources of positive and negative of positive and negative current at the central ofiice for actuating" said meter to record or re 5 bate a call, and switching mechanism at the central office for applying such current to the line.

In Witness whereof we hereunto subscribe our names this 17th day of September, A. 1). 2

FRANK R. McBERTY. JAMES L. MGQUARRIE. Witnesses:

EDWIN H. SMYTI-IE, FREDERICK A. WATKINS. 

